Story of Tenalirama

Rama and his two servants

Fables/anecdotes are always inspiring. Here is another story that contains hilarious note. It was years back when I read this story and translated the same into English.

Long ago there lived a poet in the kingdom of Vijayanagar, his name was Rama. He was a very clever man. Rama had two servants. But they were not faithful. They were rogues. Rama’s wife had a lot of jewels. She wore them in the day and at night she put them away in a box. She kept the box in her bedroom. One evening she was putting her jewels in the box. The two servants saw this.

One of them said to the other, “Did you see those jewels in the box? Shall we steal them tonight”? “yes, let us. At midnight the master and his wife will be asleep. We shall get into the bedorrom then and take the box away” Rama was standing near them and he heard them. It was dark, so they did not see him. Rama told his wife about the servant’s plan.

It was 11 O’clock in the night. The two servants went to the bedroom and looked in. Rama was not asleep. His wife too was awake and he was speaking to her in loud voice. “You know there are robbers in the town. We have a lot of gold in the hose and you have your jewels in your box and drop the box into the well in our garden. The robbers won’t know about it. The gold and the jewels will be safe at bottom of the well.”

The servants heard these words and were very happy. “ we can now get the jewels very easily.” They said.

Rama quickly took out all the gold and jewels from his wife’s box. Then he filled it with stones. “Come and help me” he, said to his wife in loud voice “ We shall carry the box to the well”

They carried the box out and dropped it into the well. It fell into the water with a loud noise. Then they back into the house.

The two servants were hiding in a corner of the garden. They were watching them. They now went to the well and looked in. it was very deep and there was a lot of water in it.

“can you get into the well and take out the box?” asked the first servant.

“no, I cannot,” said the other. “ the water is very deep. But I have a plan.” “What’s it”?

“Let’s draw all the water from the well and pour it out. We can then get down to the bottom of the well and bring the box out easily.”

They got two buckets and ropes and began to draw water from the well. They poured the water out and it flowed into the garden.

Rama quietly came out of the house with a spade in his hand. He didn’t want to waste the water; he dug a channel for it. It flowed to trees and plants in his garden.

It was 6 O’clock sharp in the morning one of them said. “ the master will see us Let’s go away and come again in the night” Just then Rama walked upto them and asked “ What are you doing here so early in the morning?”

They were afraid and said” we were drawing water for the trees and plants in the garden.”